


4 Years Before

by lipsomniac



Series: 365 Days Together and Spin-Offs [2]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Like PURE fluff, Spin-Off, chaewon makes a quick appearance, prequel to 365 Days Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22216930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lipsomniac/pseuds/lipsomniac
Summary: Yeojin and Yerim have been girlfriends for four years. They could have never met, but they did.Prequel to 365 Days Together. Can be read on its own.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin
Series: 365 Days Together and Spin-Offs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686439
Comments: 2
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This Yeorry spin-off is a prequel to [365 Days Together](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21781474) as a thank you gift for your support and to celebrate the 100 kudos milestone (it might not be much, but to me, it's a lot).
> 
> It can be read along with the fic, but also on its own.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it!

*** YERIM'S POV ***

Yerim was waiting for her friend in front of the school’s gate. It was the first day of her second year in middle school, and she looked at all the first-years arriving, she could not help but feel like a grown up. They either looked giddy or lost, with no in-between. She remembered that when she first went to middle school the previous year, she had thought of it as a huge step. Leaving primary school was exciting. She would be with older people, including pre-teens, and she was as intimidated as she was happy. It was funny for her to look at the new kids arriving. She was, in a way, reliving her own experience by replaying memories in her head.

A car parked in the nearest spot to the gate, and a very chic woman came out of it. Yerim thought she had never seen a woman that beautiful. She hoped she could be just like her when she grew up. The woman opened the door on the passenger side, and a smaller version of herself came out of it.

Yerim thought she was seeing double. It was undeniable that the girl was related to the woman. Seeing how young the woman looked, she was probably her sister. In any case, she looked very affectionate, because she hugged the kid tightly.

“Mom, let me go!” the young girl whined.

Yerim gasped. The woman was the girl’s mom? She was probably not even thirty. She did not look older, anyway. Her eyes went from the woman to the girl, comparing their facial features. They had the same eyes, the same nose, the same jawline, the same lips… The girl had a more juvenile look, but it looked like someone had sculpted one of them, and then tried to make a smaller replica and succeeded.

She understood why someone would want to sculpt such human beings. It was like trying to invent perfection. There was something about them that made them look soft, yet intense. Yerim could not explain it.

“Please don’t murder anyone, Yeojin! I won’t bail you out!” the mother threatened before getting back in her car.

The small girl stuck her tongue out as her mother pulled off. Yerim was amused by the exchange, but also a bit scared. What kind of girl was she for her mother to need to ask her not to murder anyone? She started walking towards the gate, like middle school was already her playground, although it was not – Yerim had never seen her before, and she usually was pretty observant. Confidence flowed out of her body, and Yerim was fascinated by how the younger girl could be so assured.

“Hey Yerim! Are you waiting for someone?”

Chaeryeong’s voice tore her away from her thoughts.

* * *

Chaeryeong was late, so Yerim was hanging out by herself on the bench at the far end of the park. She was glad her school had a park that they could go in at every break. Some people were not respecting it, though, and Yerim was always upset when she saw that someone had carved insults on a tree or left a plastic bag on the ground. She could not help the trees, but she tried to always pick up the trash she found. Sometimes people would give her weird looks, but she did not care.

From her bench, she could see everything. But that day, one thing captivated her attention more than the others.

The girl whom she had noticed on the first day, the one who looked just like her mom was hanging out by the pond nearby. She was squatting on the edge of a stone, fiddling with water.

“Yeojin!” someone called her.

The girl looked up so suddenly that she lost her balance. Yerim gasped. She did not know why they kept the pond there without any protection. It was not safe for students. But in the second she saw the girl lose her balance, she could not think. She just looked, in shock, as the younger girl managed to regain her balance, and breathed a sigh of relief when she did.

“No! You made it swim away!” Yeojin whined.

What had swam away? Yerim would never know, but she was curious. What could the girl find so interesting in the pond? What sparked her interest? What kind of interests did she even have? Her curiosity was triggered once again. She wished she could befriend that girl and get her answers. But she was intimidated. She knew it was stupid to be intimidated by a younger girl, but she was. Everything about her screamed a strength, power and confidence that Yerim simply could not match.

She watched the girl walk away, abandoning the pond and the friend she had made in there to join her human friends. After that, Yerim often thought about how she wished she was one of them.

* * *

All week, Yerim had been excited about the field trip to the snail farm. She and Chaeryeong had been talking excitedly at how they would have a competition over who could find the most beautiful snail. For a lot of pre-teenagers, it would have seemed lame, but Yerim was still a child. She felt like one, anyway. And in a way she felt grown-up too. It was weird how the two feelings collided with each other within herself. She was still not used to it, and did not know how to navigate it.

However, her expectations about the snail finding contest were ruined, because Chaeryeong was sick. Now, Yerim would have to spend the whole trip to the snail farm alone. She could always join Chaewon once they would be there, but they would not be riding the same bus. She tried to stay positive anyway. At least, if would give her time to listen to the playlist she had carefully crafted the day before without being interrupted by anyone.

Or so she thought.

She had barely had time to listen to two songs when someone was shoved by force in the seat next to her. She recognized the girl. She had studied her facial features so often that she could have recognized her in a crowd now.

“I’m not even that noisy!” she heard her complain to a teacher.

It was not true. Even over music playing in her headphones, Yerim could hear her screaming. The teacher gave Yeojin a harsh look. She then saw the girl look at her and turned her head to lean it against the window, blushing.

For a while – about three minutes – Yeojin was quiet. Yerim was contemplating whether or not she should talk to her. It was the opportunity she had been waiting for for months, right? But what would she say to her? She had nothing to say. She would make a fool of herself if she tried to befriend a younger girl, especially if she was clumsy with her approach.

She did not need to try. Yeojin ripped her left headphone off her ear to put it into her own without saying anything. Yerim gasped at the gesture, as it was unexpected, but did not protest. She simply blushed, hoping her playlist would not be too cute for the other girl. She had made a happy playlist, because she was happy to go outside of the school and wanted to stay in the right mood for it.

In the corner of her eye, she saw the girl looking at her phone screen.

“You have a message from Park Chaewon” she stated, plainly.

It was the first time that Yerim her heard talk. She had mostly heard her scream before. She had a deep voice, even when she was not screaming. The older girl had not even noticed that her phone had vibrated, as she was too focused on the task she had assigned herself: looking as far away from the girl next to her as she could. She unlocked her phone.

_Park Chaewon: Could we trade our lunches?_

Chaewon was a picky eater. She knew it from the brunches her parents and Chaewon’s dad often had together on the weekend. Her dad never really gave her good food to eat. On the opposite hand, Yerim had asked her mother for kimbap that day, and she had saliva coming out of her mouth just thinking about it. But she did not want Chaewon to starve. She knew that her friend would not eat at all if she could not eat something she liked.

_Yerim: Of course, Chae_ _😊_

She hit sent and locked her phone.

“You’re a pushover” Yeojin said.

“I’m not!” she squealed, surprised that the girl meddled in her business.

“Then don’t let Park Chaewon steal your food!”

“She’s not stealing my food!” she complained, and then squinted her eyes at the younger girl. “Why are you looking at my phone?”

Yeojin put both her hands in the air as a defence.

“You didn’t hide it from me!”

Yerim’s jaw dropped. She thought it was common sense to not look at other people’s phones. But maybe Yeojin was just curious. She could never be as curious about Yerim’s phone as the older girl was about her, though.

“I didn’t think you’d look!”

Even if they were bickering, Yerim was happy. They were acting as if they had always known each other.

“Trying to figure out how I could improve your playlist is complicated if I can’t look at what’s on it!”

Yerim pouted, somewhat offended by the fact that the girl did not like her playlist.

“It’s too happy! It doesn’t even go with the weather. See, it’s all grey outside! When it’s grey you should listen to things with more…”

“You can stop listening to it, then!” she interrupted her, defiant.

She looked out the window and sighed. She did not think her first interaction with the girl she had been wanting to befriend for ages would go this way. Suddenly, the girl offered her one of her own headphones, an apologetic smile on her face. Yerim grabbed it, still upset, but giving her a chance anyway.

And then, she could not keep the smile that tried to creep on her face. Maybe Yeojin had handed her a way to get to know her on a silver platter. Yerim believed that someone’s music taste said a lot about themselves. The girl played a song Yerim had never heard. She listened to every note, every variation of tempo. And then, the rap part came, and her gaze left the window to land on the DJ’s face. She was completely absorbed by the music, spitting the bars as if she had written them, her lips moving to the syllables, her articulation perfectly controlled.

Yerim smiled, watching how much fun the younger girl was having. Suddenly, she stopped rapping.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing!” Yerim replied immediately, the word coming out a bit stronger than she had planned.

Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she blushed furiously.

“You don’t like my music, do you?” Yeojin asked.

Yerim shook her head.

“No, it’s great! Keep playing it, please.”

She was trying her best to look at the floor, but she did notice the other girl softening. She spent the rest of the ride listening to the girl rap and comment on the songs she was playing. She said their titles and the name of the artists out loud, but Yerim knew she would not remember them. All she would remember was the way her new friend’s eyes were sparkling as she talked about music.

* * *

Yerim and Yeojin were sitting together for lunch. Weirdly enough, they had not left each other’s side since they had gotten off the bus. When Yeojin’s friends had called her over, she had not even looked at them. She had stayed with Yerim. She had not given any explanation, she had just not left her side. And there they were, sitting on the grass of the owner’s garden, getting ready to eat. That was until Yerim spotted Chaewon on her way over.

“Crap, Chaewon…” she mumbled to herself before her friend was standing next to her.

The blonde girl – she had been allowed to bleach her hair for the first time that year – noticed that she was not alone and smiled at the girl who was next to her before handing Yerim her lunchbox. They traded their boxes, and as Chaewon was about to leave, the brunette noticed something weird. Her box was heavier than it was when she had packed it. It was also not the same color. Or maybe she did not remember correctly? She squinted at the box the blonde was holding and decided to let it go. Maybe she was just turning crazy.

She then opened the box that was in front of her. She let out a squeal when she saw kimbap in it. And it was a purple box too. She heard a chuckle next to her, and turned her head to Yeojin, who was smiling widely at her.

“I told you not to let Park Chaewon steal your food!” she said, very satisfied with herself.

Yerim looked at the lunchbox in front of Yeojin. It was the one Chaewon had just given her. But if her box was in front of her, and Chaewon’s in Yeojin’s hands, what box had she given her friend? She gasped, realizing what had just happened.

“You exchanged our lunches so I could give yours to Chaewon instead of mine?”

Yeojin nodded, and started eating Chaewon’s egg rolls, still smiling although her mouth was full. Her eyes were sparkling, and Yerim could not help but think about how genuine she was. She had traded her lunch so Yerim could keep hers, and it was the first time someone had done something that nice for her.


	2. Chapter 2

*** YEOJIN'S POV ***

“Yeojin!”

She did not even turn to look who was calling her. She had been ignoring her friends all day since they had been separated on the bus. The teacher had accused her of being too noisy, when she was only defending herself against Bada who was trying to tickle her. It was not her fault, and yet she had been punished, and her friends had been waving at her from the back of the bus to annoy her. There was no way she would be paying any attention to any of them that day.

Especially when the girl whom she had met on the bus had let her tease her about her music and agreed to listen to her playlist. Maybe she had even enjoyed it? Anyway, Yeojin found it nice that for once, she could hang out with someone who did not make fun of her taste and interests. The girl’s friend was sick, that was why she was alone. And there was no way she would let such a nice girl alone on a field trip.

She looked too kind for this world. It had really annoyed Yeojin when she had seen how the girl looked sad when she agreed to trade her lunchbox with whoever Park Chaewon might have been. She had wished the girl was more assertive, but all she could see in her was sweetness and desire to please, so she had known she would have to do something herself if she wanted her to be able to keep her lunch. Therefore, she had traded their boxes twice when she was not looking. And the face the girl had made when she had seen her own kimbap was priceless. Yeojin knew she had done a good deed.

The girl’s company was pleasant. When Yeojin noticed weird plants growing here and there, she ould tell her and she would seem just as enthusiastic as she was. Therefore, the younger girl – who was proud to be taller than the other, although she would soon become the smaller one – had kept on rambling about everything and anything.

“Oh look at this one!” Yeojin had shouted, pointing to a particular snail she had just noticed.

“It’s pretty!”

It had a color different from the others. It stood out. Yeojin liked what stood out, whether it was things or human beings.

“I’ve always wanted a pet snail! They’re so funny with their little antennas, and if some day I don’t want to eat my lettuce, I could just give it to them? Because, in case you didn’t know, lettuce is grass. Human beings are not herbivores, they can’t digest grass. I mean, they can, but it doesn’t give them any nutrient, it’s just good for transit? So, maybe I could give my lettuce to someone who really needs it, like a snail.”

She stopped, noticing she had been talking for a bit too long. The other girl was shaking her head while smiling. She considered her smile a seal of approval and went on.

“Maybe I could steal this one? Like, if I put it in my lunch box and bring it home, no one will notice!”

The other girl shot her a look of disapproval.

“You can’t do that, because you don’t even have a lunchbox anymore.”

Indeed, her blonde friend had said she would clean the lunchbox home before giving it back to her.

“Well, I have your lunchbox.”

“You’re not allowed to put a snail in there.”

Yeojin shrugged. She had too much respect for this girl to do it. Had it been any of her other friends, she would not have second-guessed it.

“I’ll keep it in my pocket, then.”

“Gross.”

Yeojin had not thought about the snail slime.

“Fine! I’ll keep it in my hands!”

“For the whole trip?”

She shook her head. Maybe her new friend had a point. She pouted, waving goodbye to the snail as she started walking to catch up with the other students, the other girl on her heels. Maybe she would grab another snail on the way.

“If you want a snail that much, we can go to the pet store together to get you one” she heard behind her.

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, her eyes widening. No one had ever considered her interests that way.

“Really?”

“Of course!” the girl seemed sincere.

“Give me your number” she immediately said before the girl could change her mind.

She grabbed her phone and created a new contact. She realized they had spent the whole day together without knowing each other’s name.

“What’s your name, by the way?” she asked, a bit ashamed she had not done it before.

“Yerim. Choi Yerim.”

“Nice to meet you, Yerim. I’m Yeojin. Im Yeojin” she gave her her brightest smile.

“I know. Your friends have been trying to get your attention all day.”

Yeojin rolled her eyes. She had better things to do than talking to her friends.

“Thank you for your offer, Yerim. You know, that’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for me…”

* * *

“Look at the blue one, though!” Yeojin said.

The two girls had been looking at snails for half and hour now, and Yeojin was still torn. She really wanted to get one, but a voice inside of her was telling her that her mom would strongly disapprove, and it was a thing she wanted to avoid at all costs. In her head, a fight was happening between not wanting to disappoint her mom and thinking of doing it if she found a very beautiful snail. She was struggling, and it showed.

Yerim shrugged. To her, they probably looked all the same. Yeojin was afraid she was wasting the girl’s time. It was nice of her to come to the pet store, but the younger girl felt guilty for dragging her there, especially if she was not even buying a snail. She had to make a decision really quick.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, after all” she said.

Yerim pouted but nodded right after. Yeojin could see she agreed.

“I’m sorry, Yeojin. I wish you could have gotten a pet snail.”

Even after she had wasted her time, Yerim was still kind. She gave her a shy smile.

“Thank you for coming with me, though! It was nice.”

She did not want Yerim to have come all the way in a bus for nothing. Plus, she was nice to hang out with, and Yeojin did not want their nice afternoon to end so soon.

“Maybe we can go get bubble tea?” she offered.

A wide smile illuminated the other girl’s face, but then she looked incredibly sad, in a matter of seconds as if she was reminded of something unpleasant.

“I did not bring any pocket money.”

She looked down and Yeojin poked her nose with her finger to make her look up.

“It’s okay, I have plenty since I did not buy that snail.”

Her friend blushed. Yeojin could see she was embarrassed that she could not pay for her drink. She decided to not pay it any mind and grabbed her hand to drag her out of the pet store and into the bubble tea shop next to it.

“Which one do you want?”

Yerim gave her her order in a shy voice, as if she was sorry. She seriously had to start getting more confident. Yeojin did not say anything about it, though. She just ordered what they both wanted, paid, and carried their drinks to a small table in a corner, surrounded by armchairs. They each got into one, and she handed her drink to the older girl.

“Here’s to being reasonable and avoiding death!” Yeojin raised her cup.

“Avoiding death? What do you mean?”

The other girl looked frightened, which only made Yeojin laugh out loud.

“I’m not getting killed by my mom today, and that will compensate for the fact I didn’t get a pet snail!”

Her smile was so wide she was even showing teeth. Yerim looked relieved.

“I’m glad you’re not gonna die, because I really like you!” she said.

They barely knew each other, but Yeojin knew how she felt. She really appreciated hanging out with her. She was kind, not judgemental like many other middle schoolers; she was a good listener and had a smile that could cure cancer. Even though the younger girl was a happy kid, she wanted to have someone so optimistic in her life. Yerim even laughed at her lame jokes. She was a keeper. However, Yeojin did not know how to deal with affection, so she just laughed it off.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, my mom might just kill me tomorrow!”

“I won’t let her.”

The assertiveness in Yerim’s voice was what Yeojin wished she had heard all along. She liked it. Maybe her friend would become more confident with time. She would want to see it.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t try to get in my mom’s way.”

“Is she mean?”

Yeojin laughed. She could not possibly imagine her mom being mean. She was a very soft woman. But when she wanted something, she would not let it go.

“No, but she’s stubborn. She’ll annoy you to death if you try to keep her from killing me. And I don’t want you to die because of me, you know?”

“If it prevents her from killing you, I won’t mind.”

“You’re too selfless, Yerim.”

Yerim was about to protest, but she grabbed her drink instead. She knew Yeojin was right.

* * *

Yeojin and Yerim had hung out all summer. They had spent most of it at Yerim’s, because Chungha was too busy to supervise them. She might leave her daughter alone fairly easily, but she would not do it with someone else’s kid. Yeojin could see her mother was relieved that she was in good company most of the time, and her friend’s parents treated her as their own daughter.

Yerim lived outside of the city, and her garden was connected to a small wood, in which the girls often played hide and seek, or pretended to be adventurers. Unlike many of their classmates, they enjoyed just being kids. If most of them saw how they played together, they would probably mock them, but it did not matter. It would be the two of them against the world, and they would defend and protect each other no matter what. It was a tacit agreement between them.

On a sunny October afternoon, they were in Yerim’s wood building a shack, so focused on their task that they did not even talk. It was not complete silence, however, because birds were chirping, and the wind would move the orange dead leaves, making a slight noise. But they were quiet, at least until Yeojin spoke.

“I have a crush on you” she blurted out.

Yerim had paused what she was doing, and looked at her, confused.

“What does that mean?”

Yeojin gasped. She did not think she would have to explain. How could she tell Yerim that she was the first person she thought of in the morning, and the last one she thought of at night? That she was the first one she wanted to tell about her good grades? That she was the one whose hugs were the most comfortable? That she would do anything so see a smile on her face?

“It means I like you.”

“I like you too, obviously!”

Yeojin shook her head. Her friend had not understood.

“No you don’t get it, I _like_ you” she insisted on the word. “I always want to be around you, and you make me comfortable, and I think about you a lot, and I want to hold your hands and kiss your cheeks, and…”

She paused, afraid she would make Yerim want to run away. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say next, or of what would happen. She had not planned her little confession, she had not thought it through. The words had just slipped out of her mouth, and she had not thought there would be consequences on their relationship. Yerim looked deep in thought, fiddling with wood sticks. Yeojin would not rush the answer, partly because she was scared of it.

“I think I have a crush on you too, then.”

The words came to her ears, but she had a hard time processing it.

“Really?” she asked, keeping a smile from showing too soon, in case she would be disappointed.

“Yeah. I think I like you. That I have a crush on you, as you say.”

Her friend’s face was red. She was all shy, and Yeojin found it so cute. She let go of the wood stick she was holding, and walked over to her friend and hugged her. Her body felt warm in the cold air of autumn, and she thought she could just stay in her embrace and never let her go.

* * *

Nothing had changed between Yeojin and Yerim, except they held hands in school, and had given each other cute Christmas gifts. They spent all their time at school together. Yeojin had completely ditched her friends, and Yerim did not have friends to begin with, since Chaeryeong had moved at the beginning of the summer. They would just hug more often, and sometimes steal cheek kisses from each other.

Yeojin opened her mouth, as Yerim fed her a cherry. Her friend made her think of cherries, although she said she hated them. Every time they were on the cafeteria menu, she would still pick them, just so she could give them to Yeojin, who enjoyed the attention, and being hand fed by her friend.

“You two are gross” some guy said as he walked by their table.

“You’re just jealous because you don’t have a girlfriend” Yeojin snapped.

She looked at Yerim, and saw how she froze. The cherry she was holding next to her cheek was almost the same tint as her face. She spoke.

“Is that what we are? Girlfriends?”

The smile on her face was shy, unsure. Yeojin did not want her to have any doubt.

“Let’s say that, as of now, we’re girlfriends!” she said, beaming. “Unless you don’t want us to be?”

They had been acting like girlfriends for more than two months already. It would not change a thing to label their relationship, except that now, they would be able to boast about it.

“I’d like that” Yerim said.

She leaned into Yeojin to give her a peck on the cheek, and the smaller girl – Yerim had grown a lot over the past few months – turned her head to kiss her on the mouth. The older girl pulled away out of surprise, but immediately cupped her cheek to kiss her back when she realized. Her lips were soft, and gentle, and everything about this kiss felt comfortable. It did not even last a second, but it was long enough for Yeojin to know that she had made the right choice when she had made her _girlfriend_ listen to her playlist all these months ago.

_THE END_


End file.
